A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. An autonomous robot (also referred to as automaton) is a robot that can perform desired tasks in structured or unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. In today's world, robots may be used in many sectors (or applications) such as the medical sector, the banking sector, the transportation sector, the military sector, etc. More particularly, robots may be used to automate the pharmaceutical sector. For example, autonomous robots may be configured in such a way as to make prescription drug distribution more efficient and effective, without requiring any human intervention.
Robots need to be able to create a map using map-making algorithms that accurately displays their environment, in order to be effective in their application. Maps display what robots see; and therefore, it is vital that these maps are as accurate as possible, because they lead to more practical applications of these types of robots.
Currently available technologies use dead reckoning as a mapping method in navigation of robots, which calculates the current position of the robot by using a previously determined position. However, this method does not produce accurate maps because of wheel slips or skidding that would not allow rotary encoders in the wheels to produce proper results. What is needed is an accurate location service which may be applied to automating the pharmaceutical and medical sectors, and which overcomes the limitations exhibited by current methods.
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is such a technique. SLAM is a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles to build up a map within an unknown environment (without a priori knowledge), or to update a map within a known environment (with a priori knowledge from a given map, usually given by laser data), while at the same time keeping track of their current location. With SLAM, robots can be used extensively to help the public in the pharmaceutical sector.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,460, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses a pharmaceutical system and method in which pharmaceutical care is provided via a robot by a remote professional serving multiple pharmacies.
Every year in the United States, an estimated 30 million pharmacy dispensing errors occur according to the information on the website http://www.youhaverights.com/. These types of mistakes result in an estimated 7,000 patient deaths and thousands more serious complications each year. Approximately one in every 1,000 prescriptions delivered nationwide has an error, according to the National Patient Safety Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to improve patient safety. Some pharmacy errors are harmless and result in no injury to the patient. However, in many cases, mistakes result in the wrong medication or dosage being given to the patient. Patients have died or suffered life-threatening injuries when a pharmacy employee mistook one drug for another with a similar name, misread a physician's or assistant's handwriting, or dispensed the incorrect dosage to the patient.
Many pharmacy errors are blamed on overworked pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who are under pressure as workloads become increasingly demanding. Being pressed to fill hundreds of prescriptions every day decreases the amount of time that pharmacists and their technicians devote to filling each prescription.
The most common types of pharmacy and dispensing errors include:
Dispensing the wrong medication
Dispensing the incorrect dosage
Failure by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to give consumers instructions for taking the medication
Another type of pharmacy error involves the incorrect preparation and/or delivery of intravenous drugs to hospital patients. Intravenous solutions prepared at pharmacies may contain the wrong drug or incorrect dosage of the proper drug. Also, nurses and other hospital personnel may make mistakes in entering data into the computerized machines used to administer the intravenous solutions to patients, resulting in death and serious injuries.
Therefore, there is a need for robotically assisted pharmacies to dispense medication to eliminate or substantially minimize human errors.